Central African Republic–Chad border

Inside French Equatorial Africa

France set up Ubangi-Shari in 1894. In 1900 three French expeditions, from Algeria, the Niger and the French Congo, met at Kousseri south of Lake Chad, linking France’s African possessions and adding Chad as a military territory. Ubangi-Shari and Chad were merged in 1906, became part of French Equatorial Africa in 1910, and were separated again in 1914; Chad became a full colony in 1920.^[1]

The line between them was an internal one, and maps showed it in different places as commanders found convenient. Before World War II it often ran farther north, putting Moundou and Fort-Archambault in Ubangi-Shari, while in the east Chad was sometimes shown reaching south of the Aoukalé.^[1]

A line by subprefectures

The present line apparently rests on an arrêté of 12 June 1941, which simply assigned whole subprefectures either to Chad or to Ubangi-Shari, leaving the details to local administrators. Chad declared independence on 11 August 1960 and the Central African Republic two days later.^[1] In 1968 the US Geographer knew of no boundary pillars along it.^[1]